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Canada's Music Lobby Buys Government Access
An anonymous reader writes "Copyfighting law professor Michael Geist, who previously uncovered financial links between recording industry lobbyists and Canada's Minister of Canadian Heritage Bev Oda (who is responsible for copyright policy), has now identified what big cash donations will get you. He reports that Oda met with the President of the Canadian Recording Industry Association on a monthly basis last year just as the government was preparing copyright reform legislation and Canadian artists were calling for an end to P2P lawsuits. Is it any wonder that Canadians seem likely to lose
their fair use rights?"
We copy all the best and worse that the US has to offer ... arrrgg ...
:-)
Maybe we'll copy the "DRM is a bad idea" that the 'mericans are coming up with now.
While we're at it maybe we could import some backbone and tell Quebec to get stuffed...
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Don'tchaknow.
So, the America isn't the only fucked up country? I don't beleive it.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Canada's Music Lobby Buys Government Access
Thats what lobbys do. I say we ban lobbying all together. Who wants to help me lobby for that? Bring money.
Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
This was inevitable. After all the crap that went on the last couple of years, it was bound to happen.
Just recently I read a newspaper article stating that Canada is now on the watch list for movie piracy (up there with Russia and China.) The article stated approximately 50% of movies are cammed here, and that the movie industry will likely delay the releases of new films here.
I'm not surprised at all.
Nothing is written in stone yet... Since our last government (liberals) had such a HUGE public scandal something like this coming out with our new gov may well put the brakes on it totally!
when in doubt press enter and we'll figure it out later..
Our bacon is the way, the truth, and the life.
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.
I thought the Conservative party was supposed to bring an end to corruption and a new environment of accountability.
OW! My political beliefs!
The lobby is pissing money down a rat hole. The government is in a minority position and will likely fall in the next few months. Considering that the conservatives have steadily dropped in the polls, they are not likely to be around to put such legislation into effect.
I imagine in the meantime, they have bigger fish to fry (like trying to survive), than to worry about a politically unpopular move to satisfy record company executives.
A senior government figure met with the head of the industry she regulates? The horror! If getting our information from blogs is good enough for idiots like us, it should be good enough for our lawmakers.
If I remember correctly hadn't the Canadian Supreme court already decided that downloading music for personal use was within our rights? If that's the case then can't we rely on that case as a precedent to help render this presumed upcoming law void? http://www.cirpa.ca/Page.asp?PageID=122&ContentID= 824&SiteNodeID=66
find / -iname life 2>
http://www.bevoda.ca/contact.htm Contact Bev: Bowmanville Office: 68 King Street East Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 3X2 Phone: (905) 697-1699 Fax: (905) 697-1678 Ottawa Office: House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Phone: (613) 992-2792 Fax: (613) 992-2794 Email: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca From her own website....
It's just a branch office of the American RIAA. The group that represents Canadian artists is the Canadian Music Creators Coalition.
No we didn't.
Worst. Sig. Ever!
It's good to know that our politicians are just as corrupt as the ones in the rest of the world. It is that warm fuzzy feeling knowing that there is some consistancy in the world. Excuse me while I write a letter to my MP.
Oy vey! What a ham!
My blog
http://www.abandonedstuff.com/2007/01/15/fairusefi re/
It's important all Canadians write their MP and educate them about the CRIA shenanigans.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Yet another reason for separation of Quebec.
Theres a pretty big difference between lobbying and bribery. Lobbying isn't intrinsically bad - heck the ACLU does it as does the EFF among /. favourites. The trouble is lobbying is not very far removed from campaign donations. Industry gives politician money and then politician is very receptive to industry umbrella organization lobbying. The latter is for all intents and purposes bribery, especially given the copyright reform legislation. She has apparently been a broadcaster for the better part of her life. Can we say conflict of interest. Somebody should call them on it and accuse her of bribery - there are presumably laws against that sort of thing in Canada. The British probably left something like a public interest litigation around. And if Oda is a minister then accuse Harper of running a corrupt government. Even if it isn't successful the press is bad, and the embarrassment will force them to do something.
Longer term I think there should be a declaration on who writes an actual bill not just who sponsors it, and politicians be forced to declare conflict of interest and remove themselves from any proceedings regarding such legislation or face censure - something I'm sure their opponents will enjoy using the next election.
Of course the trouble with all this is that even if media industry looses this round, they'll just try again in a few years. So I still smile when I hear that the music industries sales are still falling despite the growth of online sales.
Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
For your information -- this same minister is in bed with CanWest Global (our largest news service) and even had one of their employees planning fundraisers for her. She is also the same minister along with Maxime Bernier that is responsible for Net Neutrality in Canada. If you're Canadian and want to help -- check out Charlie Angus's three-point-plan to ensure the ethical sobriety of the heritage minister. Mp3 here If you want to help the Net Neutrality movement and are a Canadian you can sign the petition at neutrality.ca These cabmins that take money from industries they oversee need to be held accountable for their actions.
The article stated approximately 50% of movies are cammed here, and that the movie industry will likely delay the releases of new films here.
Sounds like you get it more than the article poster. "Whining" and dining the heritage minister every month has been happening since Copps was the minister in the Liberal government, and we managed to avoid our own DMCA to this point. The current political environment has provided the opportunity for much more public input and consideration that the previous government:
* The current Canadian parliament is a minority government and since copyright law reform is a low priority it is probably further back on the order paper than, say, environment or "fiscal re-balancing". If the government falls in a confidence motion on such higher-priority issues then the copyright bill will once again die on the order paper and it's back to square one. Unfortunately, the Liberals (official opposition) are the most "pro-DMCA" party in parliament so if the governing Conservatives can be convinced to support it such a motion might pass easily if it does come before a vote.
* The heritage ministry is not solely responsible for copyright law--it must seek agreement with the industry ministry which is the final authority on copyright. The industry minister, Maxime Bernier, has been pretty critical about measures that would restrict fair use or compromise privacy. If a new copyright bill IS passed it would be significantly less restrictive than that which died on the order paper of the previous Liberal government (still bad, but less of a bad thing).
I believe that in the US you can be punished legally for bringing photographic devices into theatres or other performance venues against the proprietor's wishes, but that there is no such law in Canada. In any case such law doesn't fall directly in with copyright--It is still illegal in Canada, under current copyright law, to duplicate/distribute/broadcast the cammed movies. It is only legal to cam them and view them privately (it is equivalent to using your VCR to record a TV programme for private viewing in terms of Canadian copyright law).
Obviously, the pressure of potential economic loss be the delay of movie releases in Canada may force the government's hand. Restricting or removing the fair dealing provisions of copyright is one way to solve the camming problem, and I'm sure the industry will fight to have the most broadest brush possible used to paint over this issue...however a law much narrower in scope could (and should) be applied. There is some hope that Bernier will be the moderating force here since Oda is a bit of a pushover.
What makes this all-the-more interesting is the fact this Conservative government was voted in on a platform of cleaning up corruption and scandal in the federal government.
Guess it's a case of "do as I say, not as I do."
Don't feel too bad, this is a feature of all government. Where you give government powers over something, that power is inevitably abused. The solution is to limit the responsibility of government. The more areas it becomes responsible for the more areas become corrupted.
Deleted
I recall the Liberals telling Bush NO (on both Iraq and missile "defence") repeatedly under great pressure from conservatives, with Stephen Harper even undermining our government and insulting Canadians over it. And surprise surprise, what was the first thing Harper did while in government? SURRENDER to the US over lumber, despite the fact that Canada won every decision, sending a BILLION canadian dollars to the US industry in order to pay them to end their illegal actions. Harper is the spineless Bush-ass-licking coward, the liberals stood up to him, keeping us out of the ridiculous Iraq quagmire and defending our interests rather then cow-towing to the republicans.
If you suggest that Quebec would tolerate piracy, you have a low opinion of the people of Quebec. One of the main Quebec parties is predominantly conservative, and therefore opposed to fair use (without a financial transaction). If Quebec separated, they would support the interest of publishers over artists or music users.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
They were correct for modding you flamebait for an anti-Conservative tirade. This is not a partisan issue. Bev Oda's predecessor in Paul Martin's Liberal government Sam Bulte was just as guilty of accepting money from the music lobby. The content industry will throw money at whoever they think can deliver copyright "reform", regardless of what party represent.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Actually this isn't really new. For those that don't follow Canadian politics, the record industry has bought out the last 4 heritage ministers (the last three were Liberals). Nice to see they have reconciled with Bev Oda, because the they we financing her Liberal rival during the election ... when the Conservatives won, they dropped the Liberal like a stone and started bribing Oda instead. The Liberal Heritage ministers were even approaching the record industry looking for the bucks, rather than waiting for the industry officials to approach them with offers. What chance do Canadians have under such circumstances? None. We'll just have to ignore the resulting laws like everyone else.
Dear Mr. Shipley,
p yright-canada.html).
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I am a constituent in your riding, and I am writing concerning an article from CBC.ca concerning fair-use rights in Canada (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/01/11/co
Like many Canadians, I am a lawful citizen who loves both music and technology. I am a Computer Programmer by trade, and am also a musician; needless to say, I take both of these subjects quite seriously, and I am concerned when my enjoyment of either of these become threatened by law. You see, I listen to all of my purchased CDs on my home computer and my portable music player. The first thing I do when I buy a Compact Disc is to 'rip' it to my home computer, so I can catalog and listen to all of my music as digital music files, or MP3s. Under current Canadian law, 'fair-use rights' allow me to do this.
If new legislation proposed by the Hon. Maxime Bernier and Heritage Minister Hon. Bev Oda is passed, my 'fair-use rights' will be taken away. I will considered a criminal in the eyes of the law if I choose to copy music in any way which I have purchased.
The simple fact is that we, as Canadians, already pay a 'private copying levy' on all blank media to supplement lost revenues due to piracy; those of us who buy blank CD-ROM media, even if used to backup personal data, are already giving the Canadian Recording Industry money. The continued stong revenues from music Compact Discs, added to the success of Digital Download services such as iTunes prove that piracy is not hurting the Recording Industry as much as they would like us to believe.
The problem is that taking away our fair-use rights, and enacting Digital Rights Management on musical Compact Discs would prevent copying of music for any purpose. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) would be given the ability to charge multiple times for the same music (Once for a Compact Disc, once for a PC and once for each Portable music player). This unfortunately appears to be the ultimate goal of Digital Rights Management; it has little to do with actually combating piracy. This is greed, plain and simple, yet disguised as anti-piracy measures. Canadian legislation should not be enacted merely to provide large industries additional revenue streams; the law abiding consumer loses in such a scenario.
I am not the only voter who would be affected by such legislation; this would affect every citizen that owns an iPod or other portable music player, or has ever listened to music on a PC. If this legislation is enacted, the outrage will be felt by many average citizens.
The Canadian people do not want this. The recording artists themselves do not want this. This legislation only serves the interests of the CRIA and major music distributors. It is also distressing to learn what close ties Hon. Bev Oda and the CRIA have, even though the voices of average citizens and Canadian recording artists are not being heard (http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1631/125
I truly hope that you take this issue seriously, as I do sincerely believe that if this legislation is enacted and Canadian fair-use is taken away, Canadian citizens including those in your constituency will act swifty and harshly.
Thank-you for taking the time to read this. It is appreciated.
[Name]
[City and Province]
Lambton--Kent--Middlesex
CC: Maxime Bernier, Bev Oda
The only people who look up to Canada are stupid, self-hating Americans. Learn a few things about Canada and you'll understand why so many hippies threaten to move there ... but never do.
Dear MP, Please take your fat snout OUT of the RIAA/CRIA trough. Realise this: I couldnt give a flying fu*k what you criminals in Ottawa do or say - I will use MY music any way I damn want, come good laws or bad ones. Good luck in the next election - you'll need it.
I stand by my statement. The CRIA is most certainly not only affiliated with the RIAA, it is not in any sense a distinct organization. It represents American commercial interests, not Canadian companies, artists, or citizens.
The CMCC has the backing of all major Canadian labels, not just artists. Anything the CRIA has to say should be relayed through David Wilkins.
What? You thought only the US government was for sale?
Surprise!
Cette loi, c'est stupide!
Yeah, but Bush doesn't vote....[ note: I prefer the Liberals over the Canadian Alliance....
We had the recording industry buy the legislation outright. Financing for political parties became secret -> no oversight possible. KGB, CIA, FSB et al are all free to buy political parties in Finland to do and legislate whatever they want. And they do.
We have no more fair usage rights.
If there wasn't any creepily Orwellian government positions like "Heritage Minister", there wouldn't be anyone to bribe, now would there?
Red as in US GOP or red as in communist?